This is not the season that the Los Angeles Lakers were expecting after trading for Russell Westbrook. The Lakers were the Western Conference favorites after trading for the future Hall of Fame guard, but they have not lived up to the part with a 26-30 record that has them in ninth place in the conference. They are five games behind Denver for the No. 6 seed, and there’s a decent chance they don’t make the playoffs despite all their talent. The Golden State Warriors can continue to set them back with a win on Saturday night in the Bay Area.
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors
When: Saturday, February 12, 2022, 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Chase Center, San Francisco, California
TV: ABC
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Golden State’s nine-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night. The Warriors were blown out by the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, and they could only score 85 points in the loss. They took care of business in one of the easiest parts of their schedule though to remain within three games of the Western Conference leading Phoenix Suns as of Thursday.
The Lakers have not been over .500 in more than a month. They are 5-11 in their last 16 games and were summarily thumped at home by Milwaukee on Tuesday night. A loss to the shorthanded Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night was even worse though as the Blazers are clearly tanking after the trade of C.J. McCollum and only had Jusuf Nurkic in the lineup for their top players.
What to Watch
The Warriors have been quiet in the run-up to the trade deadline. There was some thought that Golden State might go after a big man to give this team more size, but they have held steady for now. They are still getting used to the return of Klay Thompson, and Thompson is starting to look like his old self after a sluggish start. He is now making 37.8% of his threes in his 12 games this season.
Steph Curry continues to be the scariest perimeter shooter in the league. Curry is only making 38.1% of his threes, but he is averaging 12.4 shots a game from beyond the arc. The NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter has unlimited range, and that opens up scoring opportunities for other players on Golden State.
Russell Westbrook sat out of the Lakers’ loss to Portland on Wednesday night due to lower back tightness. LA’s decision to trade for the veteran guard has blown up in its face though, and this team has little cap flexibility at this point. Westbrook is averaging 18.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 7.6 APG to be a great player for fantasy purposes, but he is making less than 30% of his threes and is not playing good defense.
We have seen some great play out of LeBron James though. James was not expected to be on the court this much, but he has needed to be on the floor given the lack of depth and talent. He has missed 17 games, yet he has been effective although his defense is not where it once was earlier in his career.
Los Angeles Lakers at Golden State Warriors Free Pick
There is a lot of star power on the floor, but only one of these two teams is actually playing up to its hype. Golden State has the second-best record in the league, and the Warriors are playing great defense with Draymond Green as the pivot. The Lakers don’t have anything close to Green on defense, and that will allow the Warriors to win this game by double digits on their home court.
Lakers at Warriors Best Bet: Golden State Warriors
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